The 11-year-old film from Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson avoided the usual holes in the time travel plot thanks to one simple rule

However, in films about time travel, it can be difficult to keep the rules of the magic system clear About timethe often overlooked romantic film from 2013, handles this problem perfectly. With Rachel McAdams and Domnhall Gleeson, About time tells the story of Tim, a young man who discovers that the men in his family can travel back in time. Hoping to use his new ability to improve his life, Tim uses time travel to find a girlfriend, Mary. But Tim quickly realizes that not even this magic can save him from the inevitabilities of life.

Time travel is a fairly popular theme in films and television. Many notable time travel films allow characters to visit places they have never been able to before, but this ability almost inevitably leads to a variety of logic and story problems. For example, characters try to change history, which ultimately affects the rest of the timeline. Another problem is that characters meet in the past or future, leading to identity crises and multiverses, as well as plot holes for the audience to ponder. As if by a miracle, About time avoids all of that thanks to a simple rule.

About time: Time travel only affected the mind, not the body

How about Time’s Time Travel Works?

The main difference between About time and other time travel projects is the fact that Tim travels through time in his mind, not his body. Typically, a time traveler physically moves from the present to the past or future. They are basically copied and pasted from one segment of the timeline to another. About time doesn’t work like that. Tim’s body remains rooted in his time, but his mind is copied and pasted. This allows him to embody himself at different points in his past rather than physically moving through time.

Although this may seem like a subtle difference, it makes it possible About time to avoid common time travel problems. Tim never has to worry about running into himself in the past, nor does he appear in timelines he doesn’t belong to. He can only travel through his own lived past. This may seem like a huge creative limitation, but it actually remains About time from being too complicated. Plus, Tim still uses his time travel in interesting waysincluding meeting Mary at different points in time so that their love story can progress without external obstacles.

Over time, not actually sending Tim back in time has avoided so many problems

Which is what makes time travel tropes so tiring

Ultimately, About Time’s The time travel system helped make the film better. Tim’s time travel definitely creates problems in the film, but it’s not necessarily the main source of conflict. The great force Tim must fight against is actually life itself. He tries to use his time travel to prevent real-world problems from occurring, but quickly learns that life will happen no matter what he does. People will make mistakes, miss opportunities, and even die, no matter how hard Tim tries to fight it. This is a more compelling story than one that focuses on the problems that come with time travel.

…
About time
flips the script so that time travel becomes interesting again.

About time Actually sheds light on how tiring time travel movies can be. Because time travel is such a popular device in stories, viewers can often see exactly how a situation will unfold. Instead of focusing on what the character is doing, they predict what will happen later in the story, and for the most part, that’s exactly how the film plays out. Time travel becomes less exciting the more often it is used. However, About time flips the script so that time travel becomes interesting again.

“About Time” is a textbook example of how to make time travel a success

Why there needs to be more films like “About Time”.

In total, About time is a perfect example of how non-sci-fi time travel films should be handled today. Instead of creating a complex and confusing time travel system or falling into the same old tropes, films should place time travel in the background of the main story. It should contribute to the story, but not be the main theme. About time is about time travel, but actually it’s about enjoying every part of life and accept when bad things happen. Other films should be one page long About Time’s Book.

Domnhall Gleeson has also appeared in numerous science fiction and period projects
About time
including
Black Mirror, Ex-Machina,
And
Never let Me Go.

A common complaint with films that focus on time travel is their disjointed story. Large franchises like Terminatorwere overwhelmed by plot inconsistencies and logical gaps, all caused by their central time travel device. However, if these films made their systems less complicated and focused on the human elements of the story, audiences might be more forgiving. About time is a prime example of how less can be more when it comes to time travel.